It’s hard to imagine a life without mobile phones anymore. But what is behind these devices we so much depend on? The main part of minerals used to produce cell phones are coming from the mines in Congo. The Western World is buying these so-called conflict minerals and thereby finances a civil war that has cost the lives of more than 5 million people, a sheer unbelieveable number.

The Film & Event

Film director Frank Poulsen travels to Congo to see the illegal mine industry with his own eyes. Despite the danger, the film crew gets access to the largest tin-mine where children work for days in narrow mine tunnels to dig out the minerals that end up in our phones. But still the biggest challenge is to convince the mobile industry to face up to their dirty secret in the supply chain.

After the film there will be discussion with Dr. Kurt Mills from Glasgow University and a speaker from Amnesty International. Finally there will be some fine musical entertainment by Tom Spirals, performing a reggae based solo-mix.

Night Shelter Open Evening
Wednesday, November 26 at 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Please contact Glasgow Unity for details of the location

Glasgow Night Shelter is looking for volunteers to help cover gaps in our rota over the winter holiday period.

We also need volunteers to help at a drop-in we’re going to run on Christmas and Boxing Days and on Hogmanay when people staying at the night shelter have nowhere to go because most other charities and community centres are shut.

If you are interested in volunteering at the night shelter or at the holiday drop-in then you should come along to the Open Evening to meet other volunteers, talk to some of the men staying at the shelter and to find out more about what volunteering involves.

We have just recently had a building condition report from architects and have funding from Investing in Ideas to run a consultation on future vision.

We’ll be kicking off on with an open session for users on Thursday 27 November, 7-8pm in the main hall. You are welcome to join us.

We’re running the consultation with users throughout November and December and will report back on findings Jan/Feb to the Board.

We will be laying out the current position and asking what next for KPC’s future. We’re looking to gauge support to begin fundraising for the £1m+ needed for the roof and other major repairs.

I’ll be referring to the recent architects’ report as background and this will also introduce interesting topics about the decisions we face in terms of pricing, use of space etc.

Big issue:

The single biggest issue for us is that the Council owns the building but doesn’t manage or maintain it. We (Kinning Park Complex Community Interest Company) have a one year lease. It costs us £60,000 a year to run the Complex which we cover through rents, hires and fundraising. We have no funding. We have no major repairs budget.

The architects report estimates £240,000 needed for the roof alone. Their 3 options range from a flexible menu to £1.8 million. We have had feedback from funders in the past that they would not be interested in investing in the roof if the rest of the building was not being upgraded at the same time. And we are aware funders won’t be interested if we have a one year lease.

If the community supports the approach, we will look to negotiate with the Council and their agents to secure a 25 year lease or our preference – community ownership.

If we achieve this we will begin fundraising in the Spring to raise the £1m+ needed for major repairs.

We have informed the landlords and invited comment on the lease and their position which might inform our discussions at the consultation.

Our community:

Thousands of people come through our doors every year – toddlers at kids clubs, black and minority ethnic women attending our women’s group, artists and performers, people of all ages engaging in health and wellbeing activities, families engaging in our community garden, people seeking community coming to sessions based around food, cooking and eating together.

Your role:

1) Open meeting: You’d be welcome to attend the meeting on the 27th. RSVP: please reply “YES” to this email if you can come so we have an idea of numbers for the night.

Selma James on ‘Women, Race and Class: The Fight for Real Equality’
Friday, November 28 November at 4:00pm
Room 916, Adam Smith Building, University of Glasgow

Selma James is a women’s rights and antiracist campaigner and author of The Power of Women & the Subversion of the Community; Women, the Unions and Work, or What Is Not To Be Done; Sex, Race & Class; Marx and Feminism; Strangers & Sisters: Women, Race and Immigration and other studies and interventions.

Raised in a movement household, she joined CLR James’s Johnson-Forest Tendency at age fifteen, and from 1958 to 1962, she worked with him in the movement for Caribbean federation and independence. In 1972, she founded the International Wages for Housework Campaign, and in 2000 she helped launch the Global Women’s Strike, which she coordinates.

She coined the word ‘unwaged’ to describe the caring work women do, and it has since entered the English language to describe all who work without wages, on the land, in the home, in the community, and more. In 1975 she became the first spokeswoman of the English Collective of Prostitutes. She is a founding member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (2008).

Selma James addresses the power relations within the working class movement, and how to organize across sectors despite divisions of sex, race, and class, South and North.

**********

St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally
Saturday, November 29 at 10:30am
Glasgow Green, Saltmarket, G1

December’s First Thursday event in the Gallery finds Tom Dalzell’s solo project Lives as Omens playing amidst Eduard Bersudsky’s marvellous mechanical sculptures and exploring the dark recesses of the mind, whilst detouring through some dark recesses of post-war London.
The performance will begin shortly after Sharmanka’s 7pm show has concluded. Donations will be collected from audience members as they leave.

**********

Scotland Against Fracking Environmental March
Sunday, December 7 at 1:00pm – 4:00pm
From The Helix Falkirk to Zetland Park Grangemouth